Marion Bartoli (15) advanced to the 2013 Wimbledon semifinals of Women's Singles after defeating the American Sloane Stephens (17) in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. With the victory, she makes her second semifinals appearance at Wimbledon.
There was a huge break in the action as the rain interrupted the match as players were getting ready to begin the second set. This didn't prevent Bartoli from dominating the second set as she didn't hesitate to take a quick lead, pinning Stephens up against the wall immediately.
When looking at Bartoli's style of play and comparing it to Stephens' youth, you'd expect for the American to take full advantage of the Frenchwoman's double-backhands and double-forehands. However, Stephens' game was plagued by unforced errors, shanking a couple of shots and looking like a complete amateur in certain returns.
When Stephens focused and played her game, she dominated Bartoli, but most of the time, Stephens was trying to catch up. This immediately became a problem since Bartoli, as the veteran, was able to dominate the entire match. Bartoli won the unforced errors battle 5-21.
Stephens looked to have found her stroke as she returned from a 3-5 deficit in the second and final set of the match. Bartoli continued to play her game, finishing strong just when it looked as though she was running out of gas.
Bartoli will now face Kirsten Flipken in the semifinals at Wimbledon.
